Sainsbury's tries cashier-less shopping 'till-free' to speed-up Checkout

Time starved consumers love Amazon Go cashier free stores according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Is it any wonder that food retailers are all trying to find ways to speed up the shopping experience?

UK based supermarket chain Sainsbury's currently is experimenting a ‘till-free’ check out so consumers do not have to wait for the next teller. Instead, customers can scan goods with a smartphone and put them straight into a bag. When they have finished shopping, their payment is processed by the phone similar to what Kroger is testing at many of their stores in the US.

The Sainsbury's SmartShop app lets customers scan the contents of their shopping cart as they browse the aisles to reduce waiting time at the checkout. The app is already available in 68 stores, but customers in one location will now be able to pay with the app too. The trial is currently only available in the Clapham North Sainsbury's Local, to iPhone users who have Apple Pay set up on their device.

It is this simple after scanning an item they want to buy customers can put it straight into their own personal shopping bag. After finishing their shopping, customers scan a QR code by the store's exit to confirm their purchases. They are then free to leave.

The simple fact is today’s consumers want to get in and out fast and retailers want to have less employees and benefits to pay this scan and go system is a step in the right direction.  It is not as good of a solution as Amazon Go according to Johnson.  However all retailers must move forward faster or they will be the next A&P.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant